Cowboy Caveat (6 page)

“
OK, Lucy, up to bed with
you now, we’ll take it from here.”

“
What?” Lucy whined.
“
No
I
wan...”

“
LUCY
!” Ed thundered and pointed at the stairs.
“
GO!
You need to
sleep - if only to gain strength to face the rest of your
punishment tomorrow!”

Lucy glared at her husband, but as he made a
slight move toward her, she scurried quickly away and up the
stairs, tears beginning to leak from her eyes and pour down her
cheeks.

When Lucy disappeared up the stairs, Ed
heard the slam of their bedroom door as it shook the wooden house.
Gritting his teeth, Ed mentally made a note of that to add to
tomorrow’s lesson, and then he turned to Ethan.

“
I think it’s a good idea
that the girls go to our grandmother’s place. She’s an indomitable
old lady and they will at least be safe there with her. Sheriff
Leason thinks the girls are here, and he’ll fix’ta ride out here
tomorrow, but by then the train will have left and Grant Leason
will have no idea where the girls are.”

“
That sounds reasonable,
but hell, Ed, I don’t like the idea of those little girls
travelling all the way to Dallas alone. It just ain’t right! I’m
gonna ride to the next stop along and board the train, see ’em
safely to your grandmother’s place. I’ll find me a justice of the
peace and marry Amy before she causes any more mayhem!”

“
Good idea, and for once,
I won’t tell you to go easy on my sister when you catch up with
her. Matter of fact, give her a few good smacks from me, would
you!”

Ethan grinned but he was too tense for
laughter. “It’s young Millie I feel sorry for, the poor kid,
dragged into trouble by Amy. Should I leave her with her
grandmother or bring her back with Amy, d’you think?”

Ed thought for a minute before saying, “I
think it would do her good to be with Grandma for a while, and she
will spoil Millie in the way a young girl needs, with theatre and
music, all the things we don’t have out here. I don’t think you
should bring Amy back here, though, not until I wire you that it’s
safe.”

“
But I can’t stay at your
grandmother’s on my honeymoon. Tell you what: I’ll rent me a little
house somewhere and Amy and I’ll stay there until you send word
it’s safe to return.”

Ed nodded. “You’d best bunk down here
tonight and set off at dawn to catch that train. I’ll make sure the
hands are armed tomorrow morning ready for the Sheriff’s mob when
they show up, Christ, what a mess! I’m sorry about your weddin’
day, Eth,” Ed said and put a hand on his brother-in-law’s shoulder
in sympathy.

Ethan shrugged. “I always knew life with Amy
wouldn’t be dull, but Ed, I tell you, this sure scares the pants
off ‘a me!”

Ed patted Ethan’s shoulder consolingly; he
knew just how he felt.

Ethan was gone by the time Ed came down at
six, but he’d left coffee on the stove so Ed helped himself to the
bitter brew before he set off to the bunk house. After Ed had
spoken to Max, his foreman, about keeping three or four reliable
hands around the ranch house, armed with rifles, Ed went indoors
for breakfast with his children and his brother Tyler.

They were seated at the table in the kitchen
eating quietly, the usual morning hubbub noticeably missing, and
Lucy couldn’t meet her husband’s eyes. She placed a plate of eggs
in front of him and poured him coffee. Tension rolled off her, and
Ed hated it. He watched his pretty blonde wife and thought deeply
about how to handle what had passed between them in the last
twenty-four hours.

When the boys had eaten their fill they all
looked sideways at each other and scraped back their chairs with a
chorus of polite thanks to Lucy. Ed spoke to them gently, “I expect
you’ve all heard about Amy shooting Henderson...”

“
Will he die?” Tyler asked
a little too keenly for Ed’s liking.

“
No, Tyler, he most
certainly will not die. Amy has had to go away for a while and
Millie’s gone to keep her company. It’s best that you don’t know
where they are. Then when someone like Sheriff Grant asks you the
question, you won’t have to lie.”

“
Why’d Amy shoot
Henderson, Pa?” asked Ben curiously.

“
I don’t rightly know yet,
Ben, but I’m sure she had a darn good reason. Now you boys listen
up: the Sheriff and a posse of men are coming over this morning
some time, and I want you all to head to Tyler’s room at the back
of the house as soon as I tell you to. You go straight there and
stay put ’til I give you the all clear, understand?”

The boys all nodded, the two younger boys
round-eyed with excitement, but Tyler looked mulish.

“
I ain’t no kid anymore,
and I want to help. I’m your brother, Ed, not your son!”

Ed grinned at his kid brother. “And don’t I
know it, kid! That’s why I’m trusting you with my sons; you keep
‘em safe for me, Tyler, okay?”

Tyler, flushed with pride, nodded and stood
up, gesturing to his nephews to follow him.

“
You got it, Ed; come on,
kids, last one upstairs is a GIRL!!” There was a mad scrabbling of
feet as the three boys made a dash for the staircase.

Ed looked at Lucy, who had a smile hovering
on her lips, but she didn’t laugh the way she usually would have
done.

Lucy looked over at Ed and saw him frowning
at her; she dipped her head so that he wouldn’t see her eyes fill
with tears. Hastily, she began to clear the dishes from the table.
When Ed’s arm slipped round her waist from behind, she jumped.

“
Leave the dishes a
moment, I want to talk to you, sweetheart. Come here.” Ed sat on a
kitchen chair and tugged Lucy onto his lap. She winced slightly and
wriggled a bit until she accommodated her sore bottom. Ed couldn’t
help grinning at her.

“
Sore?” he asked. Lucy
blushed and nodded, her eyes cast down.

“
Lucy, I love you so much,
and I love how you run this home. I like the laughter and the
noise, hell I even like the mess! I didn’t like breakfast today
without all of that. Now, I’m not sorry that I spanked you last
night -- you brought all of that on yourself and you deserved it,
darlin’ -- but we need to resolve this.”

Lucy sat up straight and started to reply
indignantly but Ed held up his hand to stop her and shook his head,
putting his finger over her lips. Lucy closed her mouth crossly but
kept quiet.

“
What has hurt me the
most, Lucy, is your lack of trust in me and the fact you lied to
me. I don’t want to take my belt to you, Lucy, I’m just not that
kind of a man, and I think it will drive us apart and make you
trust me even less. What I propose is this: I am not trusting you
‘til you trust me. I’m not saying where Ethan is, or what I propose
to do to sort out any of this trouble with Amy, until you feel
ready to trust me and promise never to lie to me again. I want you
to come to me and ask me to spank you for not trusting me with this
whole mess.”

Lucy, who had perked right up at Ed’s
declaration, was flabbergasted.

“
I can’t do
that
!” she squeaked
indignantly.

“
Honey, you gotta trust me
enough to ask, and, believe me, I will put you across my knee and
spank your bare bottom with my hand...but darlin’ afterwards I’m
gonna give you so much lovin’ you’ll beg me to it all again. Lucy,
there’ll be no more secrets between us after this and if I ever
find out you’ve lied to me or kept something from me that I should
know, I won’t hesitate to spank your ass all over again,
you got that, my girl!”

Ed slipped his hand under the skein of his
wife’s beautiful blonde hair, curling his hand around the back of
her neck, his thumb gently grazing her cheek. He drew her face to
his for a long lingering kiss; he didn’t think it would be many
nights before Lucy came to him. Ed knew his wife’s voracious carnal
appetite, and he intended to keep her short on sugar rations until
she came to him!

Lucy was melting into her husband’s kiss and
thinking how amazing this wonderful man of hers was. A shout from
outside drew them quickly to their feet and to the door, where they
could see the dust churning up around five riders, all armed with
rifles, pulling their horses up in front of the house. Sheriff
Grant was leading them.

* * * * *

Ethan had ridden hard for the past half
hour, and his horse was nearly blown. He had to stop and let the
poor creature rest. He sat on a fallen tree branch and watched his
horse drink from the creek, standing in the cool water up to its
forelocks, head dipped, supping up the water greedily. Ethan opened
his canteen and took a sip. He had wanted to ride into town to make
sure the girls were safe and had caught the train. The risk of one
of Henderson’s men, including the Sheriff and his deputies, seeing
him and tipping them off that the girls were in town still was far
too great a threat. He and Ed decided that it would be better for
Ethan to catch the girls in Fort Worth and travel onwards,
escorting them to their grandmother’s house in Dallas.

Tomorrow should have been his wedding day
and he was bitterly disappointed at how things had turned out. He
was livid with Amy for being so hot headed. If she’d thought more
about tomorrow and less about yesterday and revenge, she would have
been Mrs. Ethan Walker. Amy would be subject to Ethan’s control as
his wife and he planned to do whatever it took to keep her safe.
Ethan ground his teeth in frustration at how badly things had
turned out.

He gathered his horse’s reins and walked
with him to allow the horse to regain his strength before he rode
him again. He had to get to Henrietta in Clay County before the
Katy train pulled in and the girls switched from the Wichita train
to the Katy going on to Dallas. Ethan’s palm itched, he just so
badly wanted to get his hands on Amy so he could burn her backside
for this little stunt.

Amy and Millie had caught the eight o’clock
train without mishap, found their seats and settled in with a
picnic that Rose had made up for them to last the trip. The basket
was laden with good things and the girls tucked in hungrily.

* * * * *

Back at the ranch, Ed hurriedly told Tyler
to keep the small boys together in his room and stay there until he
told them otherwise. To Lucy, Ed asked that she only speak if
questioned. She should only answer the question asked but she
should tell the truth. Lucy was worried about that, but she would
think on her feet and wait and see what the questions asked by the
Sheriff would be.

Grant and his men pulled up in a flurry of
dust in front of the stoop, and they were all armed with rifles.
Max and some of the more trusted ranch hands sauntered around the
periphery of the ranch house, and they, too, were armed. Ed hailed
the Sheriff in an easy-going and friendly way and he waited for the
Sheriff to respond, his arm around Lucy’s waist for her
reassurance.

“
You were supposed to
bring Amy in this morning, Ed. What’s going on?” Grant
asked.

“
Why would I bring Amy
into see you, Grant?” Ed asked innocently. Lucy gave a little gasp
and Ed squeezed her waist in warning. Grant looked at Lucy in
surprise. “You didn’t tell your husband about yesterday Mrs.
Campbell?” he asked. Lucy flushed pink and shook her
head.

“
What’s this? What didn’t
you tell me, darlin’?” Ed turned to his wife.

Lucy stammered and choked out an inaudible
reply.

Grant interrupted Lucy impatiently, saying,
“Yesterday afternoon, your sister Amy shot Mr. Henderson when he
was out walking in town and he was unarmed. I’ve come to take her
into custody, Ed.”

Ed looked suitably shocked and swung around
to face Lucy, grabbing her arm and shaking her. “Why didn’t you
tell me when you got back yesterday, Lucy? Why have you hidden this
from me?”

Lucy burst into tears. This wasn’t difficult
because she was so overwrought that the tears were genuine. “I
didn’t know what to do, Ed, and I knew you would do the right thing
and hand Amy over to the Sheriff!”

“
Too right I would! Amy
shot an unarmed man! I’ll deal with you later, my girl; now go to
your room!”

Lucy wasted no time in doing as she was bid;
she turned and ran inside the house, grateful to her clever and
quick-witted husband.

Ed felt a wave of relief now that he had all
his family safe upstairs if things went wrong between him and the
Sheriff.

“
Well, is she here or
not?” Grant asked tetchily.

“
No, she’s not. I have an
idea where she might be, but I’m coming with you, Grant. She is my
sister and you can take her in after I’ve spoken to
her.”

“
Seems fair enough, but
you won’t stop me arresting her, Ed. Now, where’d you think she
might be?”

“
I reckon she’s hiding out
at our Pa’s old place up near the Red River bend. I’m riding with
you. Y’all want some coffee while I get my stuff ready?” Without
waiting for a reply, Ed beckoned one of his hands over and said,
“Eli, take these good men to Cookie and get ‘em some coffee and
biscuits. Tell Cookie to pack supplies for a couple of days on the
range.”

“
Sure thing, boss. This
way, boys.” The posse followed Eli round to the cookhouse and Ed
ran into the house and straight up the stairs to tell Lucy he was
going with Grant and his men.

* * * * *